U.S. patent number 10,759,255 [Application Number 15/214,496] was granted by the patent office on 2020-09-01 for autonomous-vehicle climate-control system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is Ford Global Technologies, LLC. Invention is credited to Chris James Hocking, Christopher Alan Lear, Thomas G. Leone, Kenneth James Miller.
United States Patent |
10,759,255 |
Miller , et al. |
September 1, 2020 |
Autonomous-vehicle climate-control system
Abstract
Controlling a vehicle includes determining that an occupancy
status of the vehicle is unoccupied, estimating a remaining
unoccupied time, and controlling a climate-control system according
to climate-control parameters based on at least the occupancy
status and the remaining unoccupied time. A climate-control
parameter is a value or set of values for an attribute or
attributes of vehicle climate control, such as a power status for
the climate-control system as a whole, a target temperature for a
passenger cabin, power statuses corresponding to individual climate
zones of the passenger cabin, and target temperatures for the
individual climate zones.
Inventors: |
Miller; Kenneth James (Canton,
MI), Leone; Thomas G. (Ypsilanti, MI), Lear; Christopher
Alan (Dearborn, MI), Hocking; Chris James (Dearborn,
MI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ford Global Technologies, LLC |
Dearborn |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
(Dearborn, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
60890466 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/214,496 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180022182 A1 |
Jan 25, 2018 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60H
1/00742 (20130101); B60H 1/00778 (20130101); B60H
1/00357 (20130101); B60H 1/00064 (20130101); B60H
1/00878 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60H
1/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;165/202,42,203 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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102337974 |
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Feb 2012 |
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CN |
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205370771 |
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Jul 2016 |
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CN |
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Other References
Non-Final Office Action dated Jun. 19, 2017 for U.S. Appl. No.
15/155,552 (4 pages). cited by applicant .
Wilcutts et al., "Design and Benefits of Dynamic Skip Fire
Strategies for Cylinder Deactivated Engines", SAE Int. J. Engines
6(1):2013, doi:10.4271/2013-01-0359; published Apr. 8, 2013, 11
pages. cited by applicant .
UKIPO Search Report dated Aug. 24, 2017 for Application No.
GB1707219.0 (5 pages). cited by applicant .
Non-Final Office Action dated Jun. 4, 2018 for U.S. Appl. No.
15/155,502 (26 pages). cited by applicant .
Non-Final Office Action dated Jun. 14, 2018 for U.S. Appl. No.
15/181,491 (32 pages). cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Duong; Tho V
Assistant Examiner: Malik; Rahenna R
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kelley; David B. Bejin Bieneman
PLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of controlling a vehicle comprising: determining that
an occupancy status of the vehicle is unoccupied using data
received from occupancy sensors; estimating a remaining unoccupied
time as a remaining time to a destination to which the vehicle is
currently autonomously traveling; setting a target temperature to a
first target temperature if the occupancy status is occupied; and
setting the target temperature to a second target temperature if
the occupancy status is unoccupied and the remaining unoccupied
time exceeds a predetermined threshold; wherein the second target
temperature is closer to an environmental temperature than the
first target temperature.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a
climate-control system according to climate-control parameters
based on at least the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied
time, wherein controlling the climate-control system includes
setting a power status to off if the occupancy status is unoccupied
and the remaining unoccupied time exceeds a predetermined
threshold.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a
climate-control system according to climate-control parameters
based on at least the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied
time, wherein controlling the climate-control system includes
setting a power status to on if the occupancy status is unoccupied
and the remaining unoccupied time is below a predetermined
threshold, while an engine of the vehicle is off.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a
climate-control system according to climate-control parameters
based on at least the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied
time, wherein the climate-control parameters include power statuses
each corresponding to a climate zone.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising setting power statuses
to on for all climate zones having at least one occupant and
setting power statuses to off for all climate zones lacking
occupants.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a
climate-control system according to climate-control parameters
based on at least the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied
time, wherein the climate-control parameters include target
temperatures each corresponding to a climate zone.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising setting target
temperatures to a third target temperature for all climate zones
having at least one occupant and setting target temperatures to a
fourth target temperature for all climate zones lacking occupants,
wherein the fourth target temperature is closer to an environmental
temperature than the third target temperature.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a
climate-control system according to climate-control parameters
based on at least the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied
time, wherein the climate-control parameters include power levels
each corresponding to a climate zone.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting power levels
to a first power level for all climate zones having at least one
occupant and set power levels to a second power level for all
climate zones lacking occupants, wherein the first power level is
higher than the second power level.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising classifying an
occupant of the vehicle as either a chauffeur or nonchauffeur using
data received from a driver-identification sensor, and controlling
the climate-control system according to climate-control parameters
based on at least the occupancy status, the remaining unoccupied
time, and the classification of the occupant as a chauffeur or
nonchauffeur.
11. A controller comprising a processor and a memory for a vehicle
including a climate-control system, the controller programmed to:
determine that an occupancy status of the vehicle is unoccupied
using data received from occupancy sensors; estimate a remaining
unoccupied time as a remaining time to a destination to which the
vehicle is currently autonomously traveling; set a target
temperature to a first target temperature if the occupancy status
is occupied; and set the target temperature to a second target
temperature if the occupancy status is unoccupied and the remaining
unoccupied time exceeds a predetermined threshold; wherein the
second target temperature is closer to an environmental temperature
than the first target temperature.
12. The controller of claim 11, wherein the controller is further
programmed to control a climate-control system according to
climate-control parameters based on at least the occupancy status
and the remaining unoccupied time, and programming to control the
climate-control system includes programming to set a power status
to off if the occupancy status is unoccupied and the remaining
unoccupied time exceeds a predetermined threshold.
13. The controller of claim 11, wherein the controller is further
programmed to control a climate-control system according to
climate-control parameters based on at least the occupancy status
and the remaining unoccupied time, and programming to control the
climate-control system includes programming to set a power status
to on if the occupancy status is unoccupied and the remaining
unoccupied time is below a predetermined threshold, while an engine
of the vehicle is off.
14. The controller of claim 11, wherein the controller is further
programmed to control a climate-control system according to
climate-control parameters based on at least the occupancy status
and the remaining unoccupied time, and the climate-control
parameters include target temperatures each corresponding to a
climate zone.
15. The controller of claim 14, wherein the controller is further
programmed to set target temperatures to a third target temperature
for all climate zones having at least one occupant and set target
temperatures to a fourth target temperature for all climate zones
lacking occupants, wherein the fourth target temperature is closer
to an environmental temperature than the third target
temperature.
16. The controller of claim 11, wherein the controller is further
programmed to control a climate-control system according to
climate-control parameters based on at least the occupancy status
and the remaining unoccupied time, and the climate-control
parameters include power levels each corresponding to a climate
zone.
17. The controller of claim 16, wherein the controller is further
programmed to set power levels to a first power level for all
climate zones having at least one occupant and set power levels to
a second power level for all climate zones lacking occupants,
wherein the first power level is higher than the second power
level.
18. The controller of claim 11, wherein the controller is further
programmed to control a climate-control system according to
climate-control parameters based on at least the occupancy status
and the remaining unoccupied time, and the climate-control
parameters include power statuses each corresponding to a climate
zone.
19. The controller of claim 18, wherein the controller is further
programmed to set power statuses to on for all climate zones having
at least one occupant and setting power statuses to off for all
climate zones lacking occupants.
20. The controller of claim 11, wherein the controller is further
programmed to classify an occupant of the vehicle as either a
chauffeur or nonchauffeur using data received from a
driver-identification sensor, and control the climate-control
system according to climate-control parameters based on at least
the occupancy status, the remaining unoccupied time, and the
classification of the occupant as a chauffeur or nonchauffeur.
Description
BACKGROUND
A climate-control system provides heating and/or cooling to a
passenger cabin of a vehicle. The climate-control system may
operate to cool the passenger cabin by transporting a refrigerant
through a heat cycle to absorb heat from the passenger cabin and
expel the heat from the vehicle, combined with fans, blowers, and
ducts to move air between the passenger cabin and the
climate-control system. The climate-control system may operate as a
radiator for an engine of the vehicle to heat the passenger cabin
by transferring some waste heat from the engine into the passenger
cabin.
Cooling and heating the passenger cabin can decrease the fuel
economy of the vehicle. To cool the passenger cabin, the
climate-control system takes power from the engine to move the
refrigerant through the heat cycle via a compressor, condenser,
fans, and so on. To heat the passenger cabin, the climate-control
system may not have access to sufficient waste heat from the engine
if, for example, the vehicle is an electric or hybrid-electric
vehicle or if the engine has not had enough time to warm up. In
those cases, the climate-control system needs additional power to
heat the passenger cabin, for example, by using an electric heater,
affecting fuel economy.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top view of an example vehicle.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example control system.
FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of an exemplary process for
controlling a climate-control system of the vehicle of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As disclosed herein, controlling a vehicle 30 includes determining
that an occupancy status of the vehicle 30 is unoccupied,
estimating a remaining unoccupied time, and controlling a
climate-control system 32 according to climate-control parameters
based on at least the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied
time.
Using the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied time to set
the climate-control parameters increases the efficiency of the
vehicle 30 at the expense of decreasing the comfort of a passenger
cabin 36 in situations in which the decreased comfort is less
likely to be experienced by occupants. In some situations, e.g., if
the vehicle 30 is autonomous (according to the definition of that
term below), then the vehicle 30 may be unoccupied, or the
occupants may be seated only in a back seat 42 and not the driver
and passenger seats 38, 40, or an occupant may be seated in the
passenger seat 40 and not the driver seat 38. Lessened or no
climate control has less downside in some of these occupancy
statuses than others, so it becomes more acceptable to trade off
comfort in the passenger cabin 36 for greater efficiency of the
vehicle 30.
The vehicle 30 may be an autonomous vehicle. In this context,
"autonomous" means that each of vehicle propulsion, steering, and
braking are controlled by a controller 34 without human
intervention. The controller 34, sometimes referred to as the
"virtual driver," may be capable of operating the vehicle 30
partially or completely independently of the intervention of a
human driver, e.g., the vehicle 30 could be operated
semi-autonomously, meaning that one or two of propulsion, steering,
and braking are controlled by the controller 34 without human
intervention. The controller 34 may be programmed to operate an
engine, a braking system, a steering system, and/or other vehicle
systems. The controller 34 may have an autonomous mode, in which
the controller 34 operates the vehicle 30, i.e., operates the
subsystems of the vehicle 30 pertaining to propulsion, steering,
and braking; and semi-autonomous and/or manual modes, in which a
human driver operates some or all of these subsystems.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 30 includes the passenger cabin 36
to house occupants, if any, of the vehicle 30. The passenger cabin
36 includes the driver seat 38 and the passenger seat 40 disposed
at a front of the passenger cabin 36, and one or more back seats 42
disposed behind the driver and passenger seats 38, 40. The
passenger cabin 36 may also include third-row seats (not shown) at
a rear of the passenger cabin 36. In FIG. 1, the driver and
passenger seats 38, 40 are shown to be bucket seats and the back
seat 42 is a bench seat, but the seats 38, 40, 42 may be other
types. The seats 38, 40, 42 may be coupled to the climate-control
system 32, that is, directly or indirectly mechanically connected
to the climate-control system 32; specifically, the seats 38, 40,
42 may be coupled to a frame of the vehicle 30 (not shown), and the
climate-control system 32 may be coupled to the frame. The position
and orientation of the seats 38, 40, 42 and components thereof may
be adjustable by an occupant, e.g., in a known manner.
The climate-control system 32 provides heating and/or cooling to
the passenger cabin 36 of the vehicle 30. The climate-control
system 32 may include a compressor, a condenser, a receiver-dryer,
a thermal-expansion valve, an evaporator, blowers, fans, ducts,
vents, vanes, temperature sensors, and other components that are
known for heating or cooling vehicle interiors. The climate-control
system 32 may operate to cool the passenger cabin 36 by
transporting a refrigerant through a heat cycle to absorb heat from
the passenger cabin 36 and expel the heat from the vehicle 30, as
is known. The climate-control system 32 may include a heater core
that operates as a radiator for an engine of the vehicle 30 by
transferring some waste heat from the engine into the passenger
cabin 36, as is known. The climate-control system 32 may include an
electrically powered heater such as a resistive heater,
positive-temperature-coefficient heater, electrically power heat
pump, etc.
The climate-control system 32 controls a quantity of heat flowing
to or from different regions of the passenger cabin 36, called
climate zones 44, 46, 48. The number and arrangement of climate
zones 44, 46, 48 in the passenger cabin 36 may vary. For example,
the passenger cabin 36 may include a driver zone 44 around the
driver seat 38, a passenger zone 46 around the passenger seat 40,
and two rear zones 48 across the back seat 42. Alternatively, the
passenger cabin 36 may have more or fewer climate zones 44, 46,
48.
The controller 34 sets climate-control parameters that affect the
operation of the climate-control system 32. A climate-control
parameter is a value or set of values for an attribute or
attributes of vehicle climate control. Possible climate-control
parameters include a power status for the climate-control system 32
as a whole, a target temperature for the passenger cabin 36, a
power level for the passenger cabin 36, fan speed or
air-circulation rate for the passenger cabin 36, power statuses
corresponding to individual climate zones 44, 46, 48, target
temperatures for individual climate zones 44, 46, 48, power levels
for individual climate zones 44, 46, 48, and fan speeds or
air-circulation rates for individual climate zones 44, 46, 48. Fan
speeds or air-circulation rates may be treated as a contributor to
the target temperature or the power level or be treated as a
climate-control parameter. The power status may be on or off,
depending on whether the climate-control system 32 is operating to
heat or cool the passenger cabin 36 or a climate zone 44, 46,
48.
As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 30 includes occupancy sensors 50
configured, e.g., in a known manner, to detect occupancy (or lack
thereof) of the driver seat 38, the passenger seat 40, and the back
seat 42. The occupancy sensors 50 may be visible-light or infrared
cameras directed at the seats 38, 40, 42, weight sensors inside the
seats 38, 40, 42, sensors detecting whether a seat belt (not shown)
is buckled or unspooled, a receiver receiving a signal from device
carried with an occupant such as a mobile phone, or other suitable
sensors. The occupancy sensors 50 are in communication with the
controller 34 via a communications network 52. If the vehicle 30 is
in manual mode, the controller 34 detects that the driver seat 38
is necessarily occupied.
A driver-identification sensor 54 may be in communication with the
controller 34. The driver-identification sensor 54 may detect an
RFID or other signature unique to different keys of the vehicle 30,
an input by an occupant of the vehicle 30, biometric data of an
occupant of the vehicle 30, or any other suitable indicator of
identity for an occupant of the vehicle 30. The identity of an
occupant of the vehicle 30 may be associated with a classification
of that occupant, for example, as a chauffeur or as a
nonchauffeur.
As further shown in FIG. 2, the controller 34 is communicatively
coupled to the climate-control system 32. The controller 34 may be
a microprocessor-based controller. The controller 34 may include a
processor, memory, etc. The memory of the controller 34 typically
stores instructions executable by the processor.
The controller 34 may transmit and receive signals through the
communications network 52, such as a controller area network (CAN)
bus, Ethernet, Local Interconnect Network (LIN), and/or by any
other wired or wireless communications network, e.g., as is
known.
FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process
300 for adjusting the efficiency characteristics of the vehicle 30
based on an occupancy status of the vehicle 30. The process begins
in a block 305, in which the occupancy sensors 50 detect occupancy
data and the driver-identification sensor 54 detects
driver-identifying data. For example, if the sensors are weight
sensors, the sensors may detect weight in the back seat 42 but not
in the driver and passenger seats 38, 40.
Next, in a block 310, the controller 34 receives occupancy data
from the occupancy sensors 50 and receives driver-identifying data
from the driver-identification sensor 54 via the communications
network 52.
Next, in a block 315, the controller 34 determines an occupancy
status of the vehicle 30 based on received sensor data, including
the occupancy data and the driver-identifying data. The controller
34 thus detects the occupancy status of the vehicle 30. The
occupancy status may be determined to be one of multiple possible
statuses stored in the memory of the controller 34. The memory may
store as few as two possible occupancy statuses, up to a number of
statuses to accommodate a unique occupancy status for each possible
seating configuration, e.g., occupancy statuses for each possible
occupancy state (occupied or unoccupied) for each seat in the
vehicle 30. For example, if the vehicle 30 is an SUV or minivan
with eight seats, there may be as many as 2.sup.8=256 occupancy
statuses without using driver-identifying data.
For example, the occupancy status may be one of "occupied" and
"unoccupied." The occupancy status is occupied if the occupancy
data indicates that at least one of the seats 38, 40, 42 is
occupied. The occupancy status is unoccupied if the occupancy data
indicates that all the seats 38, 40, 42 are unoccupied.
For another example, the occupancy status may be one of
"front-seat-occupied," "back-seat-only-occupied," and "unoccupied."
The occupancy status is front-seat-occupied if the occupancy data
indicate that at least one of the driver seat 38 and the passenger
seat 40 is occupied. The occupancy status is
back-seat-only-occupied if the occupancy data indicate that both
the driver seat 38 and the passenger seat 40 are unoccupied and the
back seat 42 is occupied. The occupancy status is unoccupied if the
occupancy data indicate that the seats 38, 40, 42 are
unoccupied.
For a third example, the occupancy status may be one of
"driver-seat-only-occupied," "passenger-seat-only-occupied,"
"front-seat-only-occupied," "back-seat-only-occupied,"
"front-and-back-seat-occupied," and "unoccupied." The occupancy
status is driver-seat-only-occupied if the occupancy data indicate
that the driver seat 38 is occupied and the other seats 40, 42 are
unoccupied. The occupancy status is passenger-seat-only-occupied if
the occupancy data indicate that the passenger seat 40 is occupied
and the other seats 38, 42 are unoccupied. The occupancy status is
front-seat-only-occupied if the occupancy data indicate that the
driver and passenger seats 38, 40 are occupied and the back seat 42
is unoccupied. The occupancy status is back-seat-only-occupied if
the occupancy data indicate that the driver and passenger seats 38,
40 are unoccupied and the back seat 42 is occupied. The occupancy
status is front-and-back-seat-occupied if the occupancy data
indicate that at least one of the driver and passenger seats 38, 40
is occupied and the back seat 42 is occupied. The occupancy status
is unoccupied if the occupancy data indicate that the seats 38, 40,
42 are unoccupied.
For a fourth example, the occupancy status may be one of
"front-seat-occupied," "chauffeur," "back-seat-only-occupied," and
"unoccupied." The occupancy status is front-seat-occupied if the
occupancy data indicates that the driver seat 38 or the passenger
seat 40 is occupied and the driver-identifying data indicates that
an occupant of the driver seat 38 or passenger seat 40 is a
nonchauffeur. A "chauffeur" is an individual preidentified by a
vehicle owner as a driver who will be subject to different
climate-control conditions. The occupancy status is chauffeur if
the occupancy data indicates that the driver seat 38 is occupied,
the passenger seat 40 is unoccupied, and the driver-identifying
data indicates that an occupant of the driver seat 38 is a
chauffeur. The occupancy status is back-seat-only-occupied if the
occupancy data indicates that the driver and passenger seats 38, 40
are unoccupied and the back seat 42 is occupied. The occupancy
status is unoccupied if the occupancy data indicates that the seats
38, 40, 42 are unoccupied. The chauffeur and
back-seat-only-occupied statuses may be treated as the same
occupancy status or as different statuses.
In addition to these three examples, other occupancy statuses
and/or combinations of occupancy statuses are possible.
Next, in a decision block 320, the process 300 splits depending on
whether the occupancy status is unoccupied or not. If the occupancy
status is unoccupied, the process 300 proceeds to a block 325. If
the occupancy status is not unoccupied, e.g.,
driver-seat-only-occupied, back-seat-only-occupied, and so on, then
the process 300 proceeds to a block 330.
If the occupancy status is unoccupied, the controller 34 estimates
a remaining unoccupied time. For example, if the vehicle 30 is
traveling autonomously to a known destination, the vehicle 30 may
be likely to pick up occupants at the destination. The controller
34 may use a planned route to estimate the remaining time to the
destination, possibly incorporating traffic and road conditions, as
is known in the art. The controller 34 may only estimate remaining
time to particular destinations or to any destination as the
remaining unoccupied time. For another example, the controller 34
may store a preset schedule with particular times designated when
the vehicle 30 will become occupied. The controller 34 determines
how much time remains to one of the designated times as the
remaining unoccupied time. For a third example, the controller 34
may use a historical pattern of pickups or changes to the occupancy
status to estimate the remaining unoccupied time. The controller 34
may track frequently recurring times or situations in which the
occupancy status changed from the unoccupied status to one of the
occupied statuses.
Next, after the decision block 320 if the vehicle 30 is occupied or
after the block 325 if the occupancy status is unoccupied, in the
block 330, the controller 34 sets a climate-control parameter for
the climate-control system 32 based on at least the occupancy
status and the remaining unoccupied time, if applicable. Setting
the climate-control parameter is selecting the mode for the
climate-control parameter, and thus determining how the
climate-control system 32 will operate.
For example, if the occupancy status is unoccupied and the
controller 34 determines that the remaining unoccupied time is
below a predetermined threshold, the controller 34 sets the power
status to on for at least one of the climate zones 44, 46, 48. If
the climate-control system 32 runs on, for example, electrical
power, the power status may be set to on even while the engine of
the vehicle is off. Correspondingly, controlling the
climate-control system 32 may include setting the power status to
off if the occupancy status is unoccupied and the remaining
unoccupied time exceeds the predetermined threshold.
For another example, the controller 34 may set the target
temperature to a first target temperature if the occupancy status
is occupied, and set the target temperature to a second target
temperature if the occupancy status is unoccupied and the remaining
unoccupied time exceeds a predetermined threshold. The second
target temperature is closer to an environmental temperature than
the first target temperature. In effect, the climate-control system
32, if the vehicle 30 is or will soon be occupied, expends more
energy for climate control than it would otherwise expend in an
unoccupied vehicle, and saves energy if the vehicle 30 is and will
remain unoccupied.
For a third example, the controller 34 may set the power statuses
to on for all climate zones 44, 46, 48 having at least one occupant
and set the power statuses to off for all climate zones 44, 46, 48
lacking occupants.
For a fourth example, the controller 34 may set the power statuses
according to whether the occupancy status is
driver-seat-only-occupied, passenger-seat-only-occupied,
front-seat-only-occupied, back-seat-only-occupied,
front-and-back-seat-occupied, and unoccupied. The controller 34
sets a power status to on for the driver zone 44 and sets power
statuses to off for remaining zones if the occupancy status is
driver-seat-only-occupied. The controller 34 sets a power status to
on for the passenger zone 46 and sets power statuses to off for
remaining zones if the occupancy status is
passenger-seat-only-occupied. The controller 34 sets power statuses
to on for the driver and passenger zones 44, 46 and sets power
statuses to off for remaining zones if the occupancy status is
front-seat-only-occupied. The controller 34 sets power statuses to
on for the rear zones 48 and sets power statuses to off for the
driver and passenger zones 44, 46 if the occupancy status is
back-seat-only-occupied. The controller 34 sets power statuses to
on for all zones if the occupancy status is
front-and-back-seat-occupied.
For a fifth example, the controller 34 may set the target
temperatures to a first target temperature for all climate zones
44, 46, 48 having at least one occupant and set the target
temperatures to a second target temperature for all climate zones
44, 46, 48 lacking occupants. The second target temperature may be
closer to an environmental temperature, that is, the temperature of
the atmosphere outside the vehicle 30, than the first target
temperature. For example, when the environmental temperature is
85.degree., the first target temperature may be 70.degree., and the
second target temperature may be 78.degree..
For a sixth example, the controller 34 may set the power levels to
a first power level for all climate zones 44, 46, 48 having at
least one occupant and set the power levels to a second power level
for all climate zones 44, 46, 48 lacking occupants. The first power
level may be higher than the second power level.
Next, in a block 335, the controller 34 controls the
climate-control system 32 according to the climate-control
parameter based on at least the occupancy status and the remaining
unoccupied time, if applicable, as described above, for example,
the power status(es) and/or target temperature(s) for the passenger
cabin 36 or climate zones 44, 46, 48. For example, if the power
status for a climate zone 44, 46, 48 is set to on, the
climate-control system 32 provides heating or cooling to that
climate zone 44, 46, 48, and if the power status for that climate
zone 44, 46, 48 is set off, the climate-control system 32 does not
provide heating or cooling to that climate zone 44, 46, 48. For
another example, for a target temperature for a climate zone 44,
46, 48, the climate-control system 32 provides heating or cooling
to that climate zone 44, 46, 48 so as to bring that climate zone
44, 46, 48 to the target temperature. The process 300 ends
following the block 335.
The process 300 may be carried out according to program
instructions stored in the memory, and executed in the processor,
of the controller 34. For example, to execute the exemplary process
300, the controller 34 is programmed to determine that the
occupancy status of the vehicle 30 is unoccupied, estimate the
remaining unoccupied time, and control the climate-control system
32 according to the climate-control parameters based on at least
the occupancy status and the remaining unoccupied time. The
controller 34 may be further programmed to set the power status to
off if the occupancy status is unoccupied and the remaining
unoccupied time exceeds the predetermined threshold. Alternatively
or additionally, the controller 34 may be further programmed to set
the target temperature to the first target temperature if the
occupancy status is occupied, and set the target temperature to the
second target temperature if the occupancy status is unoccupied and
the remaining unoccupied time exceeds the predetermined threshold,
wherein the second target temperature is closer to an environmental
temperature than the first target temperature. Yet further
alternatively or additionally, the controller 34 may be further
programmed to set power statuses to on for all climate zones 44,
46, 48 having at least one occupant and setting power statuses to
off for all climate zones 44, 46, 48 lacking occupants. Yet further
alternatively or additionally, the controller 34 may be further
programmed to determine that the occupancy status has changed from
the unoccupied status to one of the driver-seat-only-occupied
status, the passenger-seat-only-occupied status, the
front-seat-only-occupied status, the back-seat-only-occupied
status, and the front-and-back-seat-occupied status.
Computing devices such as the controller 34 generally each include
instructions executable by one or more computing devices such as
those identified above, and for carrying out blocks or steps of
processes described above. Computer-executable instructions may be
compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using a
variety of programming languages and/or technologies, including,
without limitation, and either alone or in combination, Java.TM.,
C, C++, Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, HTML, etc. In general, a
processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, e.g.,
from a memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., and executes these
instructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including
one or more of the processes described herein. Such instructions
and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of
computer-readable media. A file in a computing device is generally
a collection of data stored on a computer readable medium, such as
a storage medium, a random access memory, etc.
A computer-readable medium includes any medium that participates in
providing data (e.g., instructions), which may be read by a
computer. Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not
limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, etc. Non-volatile
media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other
persistent memory. Volatile media include dynamic random access
memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes a main memory. Common
forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy
disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic
medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper
tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a
PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge,
or any other medium from which a computer can read.
With regard to the media, processes, systems, methods, etc.
described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps
of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according
to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced
with the described steps performed in an order other than the order
described herein. It further should be understood that certain
steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps could be
added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. For
example, in the process 300, one or more of the steps could be
omitted, or the steps could be executed in a different order than
shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the descriptions of systems and/or
processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating
certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed so as to
limit the disclosed subject matter.
The disclosure has been described in an illustrative manner, and it
is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is
intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of
limitation. Many modifications and variations of the present
disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings, and the
disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically
described.
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